sailing to the edge of the world

This question from Leesa Perrie is spoilery for season six of White Collar, so I'll put the whole thing under a cut.

leesa_perrie asked: How do you see Peter and Elizabeth adapting to a child in their lives?

Really well, honestly. They're SO well-adjusted anyway, both as a couple and as individuals. As much as I have enjoyed them as a contentedly childless couple, I think Neal's right that their kid won the parent lottery. They're the kind of people who would thoroughly dote on their child while also giving him/her structure and guidance, who'd support them in whatever they wanted to do.

.... Well, okay, just based on how he relates to Neal, I can see Peter being a little accidentally heavy-handed about trying to push his kid towards the things he likes, not because he's trying to make them into a mini-me but because he likes the things, and he has all this nostalgia for his childhood things, and he wants them to like the things too! In particular he seems like the kind of dad who would really, really want to teach his kid ALL THE SPORTS and enroll them on ALL THE TEAMS, and try to do all the things with his kid that his dad used to do with him. But I also think that if he realized they weren't having fun he'd back down quickly, and El is savvy and honest enough to catch something like that even if Peter himself didn't.

I don't think either of them will be stay-at-home parents, but it will definitely impact their lives ... I mean, it couldn't not impact their lives. Peter will probably have to cut back his long work hours; they won't be able to have "date nights" for awhile, and so forth. Still, even though there will be adjustment difficulties, I can see the two of them finding a lot of pleasure in it -- they've always been the kind of people who would rather have a quiet dinner at home than go out, anyway.

And I also think it will, in a weird way, cement them even more closely to the rest of the cast. I feel that way about Diana's baby, too, because I could see Neal and Mozzie dropping out of the adults' lives and going off to do their own thing somewhere else, but I have a hard time seeing them completely withdrawing from Theo's life, and ditto with the Burkes' baby. I think at this point they're all irrevocably stuck with each other in one big, weird, sometimes conflicted family.

Spoilers for 6x04

Oh, I hadn't thought about Peter wanting to do all the sport things that his dad did with him, but yes, I'm sure he'd back down if the kid(s) wasn't enjoying it and accept them for whoever they are, especially with El there to help point things out if needed!

I, too, don't see either of them as stay-at-home parents, at least not long term. El might choose to stay home when the baby is very young, but I can't see that lasting for long. Either way, they would make sure to be there for the kid(s). Peter will have to adjust to working less, maybe even stepping back from being in the field as much as he is at present (I can't see him retiring from it completely though!), and will try to be there for all those big moments - school plays etc.

I think you're right about Neal and Mozzie, especially after last night's episode. I think Mozzie is beginning to realise he's stronger with people than he is on his own, and that includes the Suit too. It will be harder for him to leave when there's two babies that he's got a connection to, and I think the Burke's baby will tie Neal to them more too. Actually, this season feels like TPTB are trying to give reasons for both of them to stay. Or at least, that's how the recent ep felt to me, like they were giving Mozzie reasons to stay, because he's so pivotal to what Neal does. *drifts off topic*

Re: Spoilers for 6x04

Actually, this season feels like TPTB are trying to give reasons for both of them to stay. Or at least, that's how the recent ep felt to me, like they were giving Mozzie reasons to stay, because he's so pivotal to what Neal does.

Yes, I agree! It feels very much that way to me too (which is one reason why I've swung around from being okay with almost any sort of ending, to really wanting some kind of happy ending that involves Neal staying in New York. I just don't want to see them all split up from each other!).

I was actually thinking that Peter would teach the kid all kinds of sports trying to figure out which one the kid likes best. "Ok, not baseball? How about ice skating? Maybe hockey!" I'm seeing tremendous enthusiasm and El standing by and smiling—until she takes the kid to the art gallery and says, "Not so big on modern art? Maybe impressionists!" and Peter stands there and smiles.

And Neal is somewhere watching, smiling at them both. They may or may not know that he's there.

Actually, I think I've just totally projected Brilliant Husband and me on Peter and El—we're not big sports fans, but we do lobby for our interests, and we don't usually realize we're doing it until the other one says something. (That means that we cannot recognize when we're pushing SF&F a little too hard because it's both of us.)

I also think that Peter will take date nights very seriously and find the best possible sitter (which may or may not be Neal!) and conscientiously scheduling date nights with El because that's what he needs to do now. A baby kind of kills spontaneity, but it doesn't remove the possibility of Date Night; one just has to plan it in advance. And El will be happy to let him do the planning, because, as you've pointed out, Peter plans these things: anniversary presents and getaways, and romantic gestures. (El plans the soft-core movie with Peter and somebody else. . . .)

They're gonna be great parents. I really hope that we get a happy ending. I want to see Neal off his tracker but, honestly, going straight because he doesn't want to hurt people any more (and he really did hurt Amy, and he knows it—it's only partly his fault, but it's what he does as a con man). I want to see him coming back to Peter and Elizabeth frequently because they're a big part of his life, even though he can go anywhere now.

And I want Peter finally to take that desk job so he has more regular hours and less risk, though he's still committed to being one of the true good guys (and keeping the rest of the good guys honest, because some of them need him to do that).

(I was a wee bit disappointed that Elizabeth gave up her job so easily. I don't see her being a stay-at-home mom for long but always having other things going.)

Heh ... oh yeah, I can totally see it going down exactly this way with both of them. :) And yeah, I think it's easy to do! I mean, I catch myself doing it with my nephews, and I'm not even their parent!

... augh, I want ALL THE FIC with new-parent!Burkes, but I don't want to tackle writing any of it 'til we know if their baby is a boy or girl, and what his/her name is. (If we ever find out! I will be SO FRUSTRATED if that's left dangling at the end ...)

I was a wee bit disappointed that Elizabeth gave up her job so easily. I don't see her being a stay-at-home mom for long but always having other things going.

Yeah, I wanted more with El giving up the DC job, but I'd actually assumed that she's still running her business -- maybe having handed it off to someone else to manage when she thought she was moving to DC, but I hadn't expected she'd sold it or otherwise shut it down, so I assumed she went back to running it after returning. Of course, with the season being so rushed, a lot of the little details are slipping through the cracks...

Though speaking of the season being rushed, it really feels to me like they're trying to give both Neal and Mozzie reasons to stay and (in Neal's case) go straight: the thing with Amy and Neal's guilt about it; Mozzie bonding with the Burkes. I am desperately HOPING for a happy ending while trying to brace myself for the possibility that it won't be.